The 630 is different from the previously issued freight black 721 in (incorrect) tender numeral spacing, black cylinder heads instead of nickel silver, and a brass number plate under the headlight instead of a red one like on the 721. The red tender deck is supposed to look like the oxide primer that SR rustproofed the decks with, but it looks more like a lipstick color, needs toning down with some sootlike black weathering powder. Also, the headlight is nice and bright like it should have been all along, and dims in reverse instead of going off completely.

Something is different about the sound value package and Iím not sure what it is, but the chuff seems more difficult to accurately set to 4 per driver revolution . Usually a cv 116 value of 150 is good but this one seems to want a higher value, around 185 or so. Even then, the chuff is too spaced apart at starting and bunches up pretty quick.

The default whistle is the B4g 3 chime, a beautifully tuned sound I canít get enough of. The other two whistles are lacking. The Crosby 3 chime is very high pitched and has an annoying tail at the end. The other one is called a D&RGW whistle but it is just like the (to me) boring B&O 3 chime on each and every Bachmann steam decoder. Someone at Bachmann really likes that sound but no one west of the Mississippi thinks it sounds like a train.

Sound Value is missing a lot of sounds and features , but the one I miss the most is cv 113, which keeps the engine silent at layout power up until you move it, and turns off the sound after an interval that you set. It comes on when you power up the layout and you have to silence it with F8. Nevertheless, since this engine will only occasionally be used, Iíll wait a while to replace the decoder.